Best European P2P Lending Platforms in 2022

Want to invest in loans? Here are the best P2P lending platforms in Europe to invest with:

At P2PPlatforms.com, we strive to list only the absolute best companies in the P2P industry. Where appropriate, we do also feature our partners. However, this doesn’t influence our evaluations. All opinions are our own.

Find the best P2P lending platforms for investors

Are you looking to invest in P2P lending? Then you have come to the right place. Here at P2PPlatforms.com we do nothing but test and review various Peer-to-Peer lending companies.

To find the right platform simply follow our step-by-step guide below. Then you should be well on your way to choosing the right P2P website to invest through:

1. Decide which type of P2P platform you want to use

Peer-to-Peer investment platforms are far from similar. There are several different types that you should consider.

P2P lending platforms

P2P lending, also known as crowdlending, is where it all began. Here the idea is that a group of investors is joining forces to invest in loans for, among other things, private individuals. As a result, borrowers typically get a faster and/or easier way to get a loan. In return, investors get a return on their investments.

P2P lending can be done to both individuals, companies, and real estate projects.

One of the most popular P2P lending platforms is Mintos.

Crowdfunding platforms

Crowdfunding platforms work very much like P2P lending platforms. But instead of lending money to people, you invest more directly in a share of, for example, real estate.

Due to the fact that you will own part of what you invest in, crowdfunding does not work for individuals. The typical form of crowdfunding is in real estate – hence the name real estate crowdfunding.

One of the most popular real estate crowdfunding platforms is EstateGuru.

2. Compare Peer-to-Peer lending sites

At the top of this page, we have created an overview that makes it easy to compare P2P websites. We recommend that you use the overview to give you an insight into some of the investment opportunities you have. You can compare P2P platforms based on the following factors:

• Investment return
• Availability
• Platform age
• Types of loans
• Minimum investment
• Key features

We recommend that you initially select 3-5 crowdlending platforms that you want to take a closer look at.

3. Read our P2P lending platform reviews

If you are now having a handful of platforms to choose from, you can easily learn more about the platforms in our Peer-to-Peer lending reviews. You can find links to the reviews by individual providers in the overview.

In the reviews you can read more about the concept, and much more:

• Pros and cons
• How safe the company is
• Who can invest in the platform
• What alternatives you can consider
• Other people’s opinion

4. Choose your P2P investment platform

When you are done comparing the Peer-to-Peer lending platforms and have read some reviews, then it’s time to choose.

If you want to invest a lot of money, then it may actually be a good idea to choose multiple platforms to minimize your platform risk. But if you with a smaller amount of money just want to try and see if Peer-to-Peer investing is something for you, then you can also go with just one platform.

Whenever you’re ready to use our Peer-to-Peer lending comparison area, simply press the button below to get there. There you will be able to find some of the best companies in the P2P finance industry, and maybe even get started with P2P investing today.

Frequently asked questions:

Learn from some of the most frequently asked questions about P2P lending in general and the Peer-to-Peer lending platforms:

What is Peer-to-Peer lending?

Peer-to-Peer lending is the practice of lending money to unrelated individuals without going through a traditional financial intermediary.

According to the European Commission (source), Peer-to-Peer lending offers many benefits to society. Some of them include:

• Borrowers may get a loan if refused by the bank
• Great flexibility with interest rates
• Wide range of loan sizes

What is a Peer-to-Peer platform?

Peer-to-Peer platforms offer a service where two parties can interact with each other without the intermediation of a third party.

When it comes to P2P lending, investors and borrowers can meet on a P2P platform to borrow or invest without the intermediation of the traditional banking system.

How do I become a Peer-to-Peer lender?

The easiest way you can become a Peer-to-Peer lender is to sign up on a P2P lending platform and start investing your money in the loans you can find on the marketplace. Here is how you do:

1. Use this site to compare P2P lending platforms
2. Select the best crowdlending platform for your needs
3. Become a Peer-to-Peer lender by investing in loans together with other investors

Becoming a P2P lender requires that you are at least 18 years old.

What is the best P2P lending site?

What is the best P2P lending site for you, is not necessarily the best P2P lending site for another investor. This is due to the fact that investment goals, risk tolerances, and more can differ from person to person.

In order to find the best Peer-to-Peer lending site for your investment needs, you will have to compare different platforms to find the one that suits your needs the best.

Some of the most popular international P2P lending sites include:

• Mintos
• EstateGuru
• PeerBerry
• LendingClub
• NEO Finance
• Lendermarket
• Funding Circle
• EvoEstate
• TWINO

The P2P lending market contains 100’s of platforms. And each year, a lot of new different crowdlending platforms go to market. This means that if you do a bit of research you should be able to find a platform that suits your needs very well.

How do P2P platforms make money?

P2P platforms make money by charging fees to investors or/and the borrowers on the platform.

Investors on P2P platforms are often charged fees like:

• Investment fees
• Currency exchange fees
• Secondary market fees

Borrowers on P2P platforms are often charged fees like:

• Administration fees
• Overdue payment fees
• Origination fees
• Platform fees

On many of the best P2P platforms in Europe, investors are charged very few fees. This makes it very easy to know what your ROI (Return On Investment) is going to be.

Can you get rich from Peer-to-Peer lending?

It is certainly possible to get rich from Peer-to-Peer lending. To this day, many private investors have made 100,000’s in return on their capital.

Even though Peer-to-Peer lending can help you to become rich, you should never put all your funds in P2P investments.

How much money do you need for Peer-to-Peer lending?

You only need around €10 to start doing Peer-to-Peer lending. Some platforms even require less money for investors to use their platform.

But even though you can start investing in P2P loans with very little money, you should also take fees into consideration.

As bank transactions often have high fees, you consider putting aside at least €100 before you invest in Peer-to-Peer lending.

Is P2P lending legal?

P2P lending is legal in most places. How the Peer-to-Peer lending companies are regulated depends a lot on different factors such as where the company is located, who can invest via the platform, other security law considerations, etc.

Compared to the United States where the SEC regulates the platforms, there are only very few regulations to be found in Europe. This is probably also why you will be able to find a lot more European platforms compared to the US.

Is P2P lending safe?

All investments come with risks. Here, investing in Peer-to-Peer lending is no exception.

How safe your investments in P2P lending are, depends a lot on which platforms, lending companies, and loans you choose to invest in.

If you make sure to invest in many great loans from reliable lending companies via high-quality platforms, you should be relatively safe.

Unfortunately, not all platforms, lending companies, and loans on the market are of high quality. This means that you will have to do a bit of research before diving into the P2P lending market.

More info for aspiring P2P investors

If you have never invested in P2P lending before, read on here. Here we outline some of the common fall groups that may be associated with investing in P2P investment platforms. With this, we hope to give you a better idea of how to invest in Peer-to-Peer lending.

1. Only invest what you can afford to lose

When it comes to investing in general, it is important that you invest only what you can actually afford to lose. For while investing through various international Peer-to-Peer lending platforms can yield a high return, no investment is without risk. As an example, the platform you choose to invest through can potentially end up going bust.

2. Invest through multiple P2P lending platforms

If you invest a substantial portion of your money in Peer-to-Peer investments, then you should seriously consider doing so through multiple platforms. This is because the platforms in themselves impose a risk to you as an investor.

For example, in 2019, the platform Lendy collapsed, which meant many investors lost a part of their initial investments.

The best way to safeguard against such kind of platform risk is to invest through several different platforms.

3. Do not overinvest in one loan

Whatever you do, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. That saying also goes with investments in Peer-to-Peer loans. At times, the loans go into default, which means you risk losing your money – even if the loan has a buyback guarantee.

Therefore, investing in many different loans is a better idea than just investing in one. At some Peer-to-Peer lending sites, you can invest very small amounts per loan. Doing so will minimize your risk against the individual P2P loan.

4. A buyback guarantee is only as solid as the one behind it

Buyback guarantees are a very popular selling point for the many different Peer-to-Peer lending companies. And as long as those who promise you to buy the investment from you in case it goes down are solvent, well then it is also a pretty good deal. However, should a platform or loan originator not be able to pay the buyback guarantee, you risk losing your entire investment. So always bear in mind that a buyback guarantee is only as solid as the one behind it.